SEATTLE 31, DENVER 27: Hawks come out of nowhere

The Seahawks keep slim playoff hopes alive with an unbelievable comeback victory over the Broncos.

By Dave Boling

Special to The Sun

DENVER  Seattle trailed by 17 and it should have been twice that bad.

As the Seahawks trudged into the locker room at halftime Sunday, they knew they had put forth an effort as compellingly awful as any that have sent this franchise on a dizzying downward spiral the past several seasons.

From the middle of this malaise, a voice was raised.

"Coach Clarence Shelmon told us then that we were going to win this game,'' Seahawk linebacker Terry Wooden said. "And we all took it upon ourselves to show the character and guts this team has.''

In the thirty minutes of play that followed, Shelmon went from looking absolutely certifiable to remarkably prescient as the Seahawks pulled off the biggest comeback (down 20 points in the first half) in franchise history to upset Denver 31-27 at Mile High Stadium.

It was only the second AFC West win on the road for the Seahawks since 1991, but it was the fifth win in six games and it leveled their record at 7-7 while adding a bit of reality to their playoff hopes with two games left  Sunday an ESPN game against Oakland in the Kingdome at 5 p.m. and Dec. 24 at Kansas City.

"A lot of people are in shock right now  our whole football team,'' said Denver coach Mike Shanahan, who saw his team blow a 20-0 lead and surrender 21 fourth-quarter points to the Seahawks. "It's very tough on us, because, as everyone can see, we gave it away.''

Perhaps it would be better to say it was taken from them.

The Seahawks forced two fumbles and came up with two John Elway interceptions in the second half, while backup quarterback John Friesz fired a pair of touchdown passes in relief of injured starter Rick Mirer.

In short, it looked like a different Seahawk team in the second half.

"I was just grasping at straws,'' said Shelmon, the Hawks' running backs coach. "I was trying to appeal to their pride and their emotions (at halftime) because we really haven't won a game of significance in the four years I've been here and people don't have any respect for us.

"I told them that it was time to step up and if you wanted to be considered winners, it was time to get rid of that losing mentality.''

Coach Dennis Erickson admitted that the comeback was against "impossible odds.''

Sure it was, considering that the Broncos enjoy the greatest homefield advantage in professional sports (Seattle had won only three of 17 games here); that Elway is the master of the late-game, game-saving miracle finish; and that Bronco Glyn Milburn had the most productive day (414 all-purpose yards) of any player in the history of the NFL.

Impossible odds? That might even be an understatement.

For Seattle, the game truly started at a moment that looked the most bleak, as Denver was driving for what appeared to be the knockout score immediately after intermission.

But it was Robert Blackmon who applied the knockout, nailing Elway on a safety blitz. Hawk defensive end Antonio Edwards picked up the loose ball and raced 83 yards for a touchdown  the longest fumble return for a score in team history.

"We called a blitz and tried to make something happen,'' Erickson said. "They were driving down there and that thing would have been over, it would have been 27-3.''

Instead, it was 20-10.

Elway brought them back once more, though, all the way to the Seahawk 15, where Cortez Kennedy broke through the Bronco line and pressured Elway into an ill-advised throw that was intercepted by Eugene Robinson.

Friesz had been rusty through the third quarter after taking over with two minutes left in the first half when Mirer suffered a separation of the left shoulder.

But in the fourth quarter, he was exceptional, completing 12 of 19 passes (with two drops) for 154 yards.

One crucial third-down completion to Brian Blades (seven catches for 127 yards) helped the Hawks move to the Bronco 24, where Chris Warren burst through a crack in the left side of the line for a touchdown.

Almost unbelievably, Seattle trailed by only three, 20-17, with 11:06 left in the game and Friesz and Warren (101 yards on 18 carries) appearing to grow stronger as the game went on.

But yet another big Milburn return (45 yards) gave Denver good field position and on third-and-8 at the Seahawk 22, Mike Pritchard was sent into the end zone after an Elway pass and drew an interference call against Hawk Selwyn Jones.

Then, from the 1, Elway dove in to apparently douse the Seahawk hopes.

But Friesz went 5-for-6 on the next drive and got lucky when his pass from 5 yards out bounced off the hands of Bronco Steve Atwater and was collected for a score by Joey Galloway.

"There was a miscommunication,'' Friesz said, explaining that he called for a blocking scheme that sounded  in the middle of 71,488 Bronco fans  like an altered passing route.

"It was so loud, I didn't even know if I was running the right route,'' Galloway said. "I didn't even see the ball until it was coming down right in front of me.''

Friesz got another chance with 2:47 left on the clock and the Hawks trailing 27-24.

Friesz and Blades were connecting at this point, but a pair of dropped passes by rookie tight end Christian Fauria left Seattle facing a fourth-and-three at the Denver 38.

Again, under pressure, Friesz found Blades for seven yards and a first down.

As the clock worked down into the final minute, Friesz carefully chipped away at the Broncos. From the 20, in the face of an all-out blitz, Friesz got the ball to Warren on a screen and he sprinted up the right side for the game-winner.

"It was a little screen we run,'' Friesz said. "I looked to the left, to the tight end, and everybody (on defense) floated with my eyes and that's why (Warren) snuck up the sideline.''

With the Seahawk defense applying good pressure, even Elway couldn't get the Broncos back on top with :44 on the clock.

"Everybody is dumbfounded,'' Elway said.

Milburn was certainly a bright spot for the 7-7 Broncos, as he came on early in the game to replace rookie rushing sensation Terrell Davis, who injured his right leg.

Milburn rushed for 131 yards on 18 carries, had 45 yards on five receptions, returned five punts for 95 yards and brought back five kickoffs for 133 yards.

No one since Billy Cannon of the Houston Oilers in 1961 (373 yards) has been that productive.

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